They thought him a happy fool, he mused.
Did they really think he was capable of being so cheerful all the time? Kaito guessed he could not blame them. It was rare to see him without a smile. Everywhere he went, he would be accompanied by a grin, some laughter, a joke perhaps. He had given them no reason to think otherwise.
It was not fair to blame them but sometimes, just sometimes, he felt hurt they never noticed.
Jii could sometimes tell. Jii was like a father to him, someone to fill in the large gaping hole Kuroba Toichi left in his world when he left. Jii knew him better than most, and yet would never understand him completely.
The old man knew the KID well, very well. He had worked with him for years, even before Kaito was born and later took up the title after his father. Jii had helped put him on his feet again and get control of his life. He was someone Kaito could turn to when he could take it no longer, carrying the burden of being the international thief KID and a high school student, balancing the two roles in his lives upon his shoulders, feeling like he might break any moment. He knew what Kaito was going through and was and would be always there for him.
But when Jii looked at him, Kaito felt that his old friend was seeing more of the phantom thief KID in him than the 17 year old student he was.
Kaito wondered if his mother knew he was KID. If she did, she showed no sign of it although he would sometimes find bloodstains from wounds he acquired on heists mysteriously disappearing from the white suit of the famous thief, replaced by the scent of clothes just washed.
If she knew, she would not stop him from being KID. She knew what he had to do and would support him quietly from afar. But she would worry for him.
Just as she would have worried for his father.
If she knew, of course. He could not be sure but he suspected she did. He wished she would not be burdened with the knowledge though.
Kaito noticed that he had been drumming his fingers on his table unconsciously and stopped abruptly. In front of the classroom, the teacher scribbled on the board, rambling on about some sort of math problem.
"Kaito, is something wrong?"
He turned his head away from the window to face her. Aoko's face was etched with lines of concern. Aoko… she could read his emotions well, as far as he could possibly allow someone to. He felt his poker face slam up and smiled disarmingly.
The reflex action startled him. The speed and urgency as it arranged his features shocked him. Had he always been so cautious, so paranoid? He suddenly wanted to just let go of everything and spill his emotions for all to see.
But he just grinned at her. The poker face had served him well countless times as KID and also the boy that hid behind the monocle. He wondered what someone would find if they had miraculously managed to pry off this mask of his. Probably a hundred more underneath.
"What? Did you just feel worried for me?"
Aoko's irritated glare pierced into him as she rubbed her fingers together restlessly as though searching for a weapon. A mop would be ideal. Or maybe just this once, a stuffed fish attached to a pole. As both were currently unavailable, she settled for an umbrella instead.
The two began their traditional chase. And as he ran, the grin never once left his face.
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaitou.
Author's note: Ahhhhh, finally done writing this one! Kaito's depressed. Not that I'm enjoying it. –cough– Nope, not me.
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